Meet Vincent Guarino and Carrie Braman of Frontier Maple Sugarworks. Guarino leases land in Jackman to produce MOFGA certified organic maple syrup. He and Braman live in Northport and sell their syrup at the Lincolnville Farmers' Market.

On June 14 from 11 a.m. to noon, during the Waldo County Open Space Festival and Farm & Homestead Day at MOFGA, Buck O'Herin of the Waldo County Trails Coalition will lead a hike along Sandy Stream in a mature hemlock forest. The hike will start at the stone archway at the north entrance of MOFGA's Common Ground Education Center in Unity. FMI: Nancy Rosalie at 568-7597 or www.waldotrails.org or https://www.facebook.com/WaldoCountyTrailsCoalition.

These informal tours and presentations, most followed by a potluck, are aimed at MOFGA apprentices but are open to the public. Please bring a place setting and a dish or something fresh from the farm to share.

Small farmers need to be creative and innovative marketers to be successful. The best are those who cultivate community involvement in their farms and nurture face-to-face relationships with their customers. Learn from the folks at Cultivating Community and The Pickup Café and CSA how they've approached collaborative marketing. This workshop will cover some of the basics of marketing and focus in on creative marketing channels such as farm stands, bringing EBT to a farmers market, Senior Farm Share, becoming a WIC vendor, low-income CSA shares, double voucher coupons, selling to food pantries, and the benefits and challenges of collective marketing. Potluck to follow at both locations. More information.

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MOFGA Volunteer Work Days - We Need Your Help!

* On Friday, June 13, we will be setting up for Farm and Homestead Day. Join our Farm and Homestead crew as they set up tents, tables, chairs, and signage for Saturday's event. We'll begin at 9 a.m.

* On Friday, June 13, we would love some extra hands for our Farm to Table dinner hosted by the Squire Tarbox Inn. This will be a great event in a beautiful setting to benefit MOFGA. We need help from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. with set up, clean up, serving food, and more. There will be delicious pizza for all our volunteers!

* On Saturday, June 14, we will be having Farm and Homestead Day here at MOFGA and need volunteers from about 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. We need help with parking, at the gates, assisting presenters, and more. Come enjoy the event and lend a hand as well!

* On Saturday, June 14, meet orchard enthusiasts and help with the orchard at MOFGA. In the morning and continuing all day, help build a Common Throne (composting toilet). Construction, led by Jonathan Fulford of Artisan Builders, will take place at the "fairgrounds," where the Throne will be used over the July 4th weekend. In the afternoon (and all day), help weed and mulch the orchard. Lauren Cormier and others will be on hand to talk about the companions. Bring a lunch, your tools (and wheelbarrow if you have one).

* On Sunday, June 15, join us on the MOFGA grounds for clean up from Saturday's event. The Open Space Festival will take place in neighboring Thorndike, so swing by for a couple hours on your way to the event. We'll start clean up around 9 a.m.

* On Monday, June 23, we would love some extra hands as we spruce up our grounds and clean our camping area to prepare for the Permaculture Convergence. Enjoy some time working outside. We will begin at 9:30 a.m. and will have T-shirts for all of our volunteers.

If anyone would like to help with any or all of the events, please contact MOFGA Volunteer Coordinator Anna Libby at 568-4142 or alibby@mofga.org.

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An Evening with a Small Ruminant Parasitologist, Dr. James Miller

Dr. James E. Miller, a faculty member in the Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine at Louisiana State University, is an expert in small ruminant gastrointestinal nematode parasitism. The Maine Sheep Breeders Association, the University of Maine Cooperative Extension and the Turner Veterinary Service have arranged for sheep and goat producers to meet with and learn from Dr. Miller.

Monday, June 16, 2014
5:00 to 6:30 p.m. - Evening meal (on-your-own). Cole Farms Restaurant, Gray, Maine. Please arrive by 5:15 p.m. to order off the menu. RSVP 207-781-6099 or email lynne.b.hazelton@maine.edu with contact phone number, email, number attending and subject line MILLER.
7:00 to 8:30 p.m. - Educational component of the evening, at the Maine Forest Service Building, Gray. Free and open to the public. Topics: * update and new concepts regarding small ruminant parasite management - including organic and natural methods; * using anthelmintics effectively; * Q&A and discussion

On Sunday, June 22, at 5:00 pm Penobscot Marine Museum, Greenhorns, MOFGA and Maine Farmland Trust are hosting a potluck dinner at Tranquility Grange Hall in Lincolnville to explore the possibilities for a Sail Freight Project along the coast of Maine. Email Kathy Goldner at the museum kgoldner@pmm-maine.org, or call 207-548-2529 ext. 216 to reserve your seat. Bring a pot luck dish to share.

Presentations by Cate Cronin, former Captain of the Hudson River Sloop; Cipperly Good, curator at Penobscot Marine Museum; Lu Yodder, boat builder and sailor for Mast Brothers Chocolate Sail Project; Patrick Kiley and Severine Fleming, Greenhorns and the Vermont Sail Project; Elisha Kaufman, Mystic Sheaf Traders; and Lance Lee of The Apprenticeshop in Rockport. Presentations followed by the pot luck dinner and a community conversation about ideas, proposals, vessel suggestions and routes for a Maine Sail Freight Project.

Our thanks to sponsor Marshall Wharf Brewery in Belfast. For more information or to volunteer contact hannah@thegreenhorns.net.

Have you thought about planting fruit trees, but you weren't sure how to grow them organically? Or do you have fruit trees in the ground and you would like to learn organic cultivation methods? If so, join C.J. Walke, MOFGA's organic orchardist, in Durham, where he will present organic methods for growing tree fruit. C.J. will discuss soil and nutrient requirements, explain organic pest and disease control and provide ample time to answer questions and concerns about cultivating fruit trees organically. Please remember to bring a lunch. Register here.

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2014 Common Ground Country Fair Poster

This year's 2014 Common Ground Country Fair poster features medicinal herbs. The artist, Kate Seaver, is a MOFGA journeyperson and co-operator of Up-Beet Farm in Porter, a MOFGA certified organic market garden. Her art highlights a celebrated aspect of the Common Ground Country Fair, which features more than 1,400 exhibitors and speakers. This year's Fair will occur on September 19, 20 and 21.

This is a reminder that the deadline for submitting an application to get certified this year is coming right up for farms - on June 30. If you've been thinking about getting certified but have questions, give us a call or an email. The federal cost share program is in full swing for both farmers AND processors this year ... which means you get 75 percent of your certification fees (up to $750) back once you get certified. Paperwork and other tidbits are posted online here.

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MOFGA Seeks Educational Programs Director

MOFGA is searching for a dynamic, organized and motivated individual to serve as Educational Programs Director. This job opening creates an outstanding opportunity to build on the success of MOFGA's educational programs and work with a fast growing environmental organization focusing on ecologically sound farming and gardening practices. Details.

June 14 - Maine Heritage Orchard Work Day. Saturday, MOFGA's Common Ground Education Center. Help build a Common Throne (composting toilet) for the orchard. Construction, led by Jonathan Fulford of Artisan Builders, will take place at the "fairgrounds." In the afternoon (and all day), help weed and mulch the orchard. Lauren Cormier and others will be on hand to talk about the companions. Bring a lunch, your tools (and wheelbarrow if you have one). Please contact MOFGA Volunteer Coordinator Anna Libby at 568-4142 or alibby@mofga.org.

June 14 - Trail Hike at MOFGA. 11 a.m. to noon., during the Waldo County Open Space Festival and Farm & Homestead Day. Buck O'Herin of the Waldo County Trails Coalition will lead a hike along Sandy Stream in a mature hemlock forest. Hike will start at the stone archway at the north entrance of MOFGA's Common Ground Education Center in Unity. FMI: Nancy Rosalie at 568-7597 or www.waldotrails.org or https://www.facebook.com/WaldoCountyTrailsCoalition

June 20-21 - Maine Fare, Belfast. A two-day festival of good food and food for thought. Hosted by Maine Farmland Trust and Penobscot East Resource Center. MOFGA will have a table at Maine Fare on Friday, June 20. Details.

June 23 - Volunteer Work Day at MOFGA. Monday. We would love some extra hands as we spruce up our grounds and clean our camping area to prepare for the Permaculture Convergence (July 4-6). Enjoy some time working outside. We will begin at 9:30 AM and will have T-shirts for all of our volunteers. Please contact MOFGA Volunteer Coordinator Anna Libby at 568-4142 or alibby@mofga.org.

June 26 - Public Hearing on the Maine Citizen Trade Policy Commission's 2014 Assessment. Thursday, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., Room 220, Cross Office Building, Maine State House, Augusta. The Assessment presents information about the impact of international trade agreements on Maine laws, working conditions and business environment. A discussion will take place after the presentation.

July 7 - Deadline to apply for USDA grants and combination grants and guaranteed loans for eligible farms and other rural businesses under the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) for fiscal year 2014. Details.